N.J.’s Christie Says He Won’t Sign Doggie Seat Belt Law

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
said he won’t sign a “stupid” proposal pending in the
Legislature that would require motorists to secure dogs and cats
with a seatbelt-like harness while in moving vehicles.

Lawmakers are wasting time considering the measure when the
state needs tax cuts and ethics reforms, Christie said today in
his monthly radio call-in show.

The first-term Republican has running battles with
Democrats who control the Senate and General Assembly over how
to lower the highest residential property taxes in the nation,
erase a shortfall in revenue, and cut the worst unemployment
rate in three decades.

“This will tell you everything you need to know about how
New Jersey runs under the Democrats,” Christie, 50, said on
WKXW-FM’s “Ask the Governor” broadcast from Ewing, New Jersey.
“They’re actually spending their time on this.”

“Let’s not cut taxes,” he said. “Let’s not plug the
holes in the property-tax cap. Let’s not get shared services so
we can reduce property taxes. Let’s not pass ethics reform so
these part-time legislators will have to tell you what money
they’re getting and where they’re getting it from.”

Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, a Newark Democrat who owns
a Pomeranian named A.J. along with five cats and a rabbit,
introduced the bill to require the harnesses for animals not
being transported in cages. Violators would get a $25 ticket
that might escalate to higher fines.

No Signature

If the bill makes it through the Legislature for him to
sign into law, Christie said, he wouldn’t put “my name near
something that stupid.”

Spencer, 44, a liability-law attorney, said securing
animals is “a bigger issue than people realize,” comparing it
with distractions such as texting while driving.

Christie is pressing for a tax cut that he says will help
create jobs. Revenue collections in the first two months of the
fiscal year are almost $100 million behind the governor’s
forecast, according to the state Treasury.

New Jersey’s credit outlook was lowered last week to
negative by Standard & Poor’s.